Hi.
Were just embarking in to chickens. In fact I'm still building thier coop and house
We intend to keep 6 for egg laying.
But here comes the questions..
1. In the area i intend to let them run contains a Gunnera plant.. Is this safe in their areas as it will take some moving( plus i like it )?
2. Is there any other plants i need to move/avoid?
Hope to not annoy you over the next few months as i have loads more questions......
Hello, i don't know if it's safe but i know they don't normally eat things that kill them :shock:
If they leave it be then it will be fine, I never romve any plants and some they eat (and live!) and some they dont ( and still live) So, i would just see how they go- if they have plenty of pellets then they will probably ignore anything not good to eat.
regards, David
Hi Martin,
Have only had chickens for a few weeks myself but I agree with David, they don't seem to eat any thing that isn't good for them and I think a gunnera would be a bit tough and spiky for them even if they wanted to eat it. Mine free range around our garden in the afternoon and I haven't moved anything, my sweet peas have taken a hammering though :lol:
Don't worry about questions,I've found that everyone is very friendly and helpful here! A few questions of my own though:-
What hens are you getting?
When are you having them?
Can we get some pics when you've got them?
Did you know keeping chickens is addictive?
Thanks for the replies.
Right ...next set of questions...
Having never kept chooks before i need lots of help.
I'm keeping them on my allotment, the outside area i thought would be 3m x 3m x2m high.
The hut is 1.3x 1mx 1m high.
I'm allowed up to 8 hens and no cockerals.
so....
1. is this size reasonable for this amount of chooks? if not how many or what should i up it to?
2. was thinking of hybrid hens as i want them for eggs, thoughts?
3. was thinkings of P.O.L hens. Does this sound OK?
Hi again,
David is your man for size of pen and stuff, there is something about it on the forum if you search too.
I've got 4 hybrids and they were POL pullets. They have settled in very well and two began laying within a week. All of them lay now and they a pretty easy going birds. I'm new to chickens myself and they are supposed to be good for newbies like us :lol:
I would point out that the Bluebelle/blue ranger is not as sociable as the others and I know other's on this site have said similar. Other than that, go for it and have fun.
Hi, i would think up to 6 hens max- unless you can increase the run or let them "free range" for a while each day- the more space the better- too little space and that's when the problems start. Hydrids are the way to go if you only want eggs and POL is good too- more expensive to buy but you don't have the hassle of raising them and the expense of feeding them up to egg laying age.
regards, David
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